


Claim Jump

by the_rogue_bitch



Series: The Selkirk Grace [6]
Category: Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years
Genre: Angst, F/M, Family, Family Drama, Feels, Heterosexual Sex, Loss, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, POV Original Character, Sad, Sexual Content, grim grimy Call bumbles his way through feels what are those
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-18
Updated: 2014-11-18
Packaged: 2018-02-26 04:26:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2638010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_rogue_bitch/pseuds/the_rogue_bitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Our Heroine continues to have the Worst Year Ever and loses just about the last thing that matters to her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Claim Jump

**Author's Note:**

> If you're reading these, I thank you. 
> 
> All love to [tryxchange](http://archiveofourown.org/users/tryxchange) for taking time out of her life to read and spiff these up for me.

I feel like everything I’ve sown  
Is being swept away,  
Well, I refuse to let you go.  
\-- Muse, “Map of the Problematique”

**

You could've knocked me over with a feather when my sister arrived one autumn day.

I had been in the kitchen, canning food for the coming winter, when I heard a horse gallop up. I just figured it was Call and waited for his usual, “Aden, are you home?” and the sound of his saddlebags hitting the porch before he led the Hellbitch into the barn.

Instead, the door crashed in, causing me to jump and reach for my gun. It was my sister, wild auburn hair cascading down her back, gasping for breath.

"Is he here yet?" she asked.

"Is who here? What are _you_ doing here?"

I hadn't seen any of my siblings for four years, since our parents' funeral.

"You mean he hasn't even sent word that he's coming?" Minty pulled off her hat and threw it on the counter. A few defeated hairpins clattered to the floor.

"Whoever he is, no, he hasn't." I replied, more perplexed than ever. What had brought my sister back from Boston to our childhood home in such a hurry?

Minty went over to the sink pump and splashed some water on her face. I watched her and waited for an explanation. She turned towards me and said, "Sallust is coming. He wants the farm."

I went cold and dizzy. "What?" I said faintly.

"He's coming from Chicago with that awful wife of his and their son. Sit, Aden, before you fall down."

Dimly I pulled out a chair and sat.

"But -- why?" I wondered aloud. "He never wanted the farm before."

"I know. It's not very clear and he hasn't said." Minty sat across from me. "I had a wire from Vess, saying he was in some sort of trouble and needed to leave Chicago in a hurry."

Vess was my eldest sister. She lived in Chicago, near Sallust, with her husband. He was a lawyer and travelled in the same circles as Sallust, who was also a lawyer.

"What sort of trouble could he possibly be in that's bad enough to drive him back to the farm?" I speculated. "He couldn't leave fast enough the last time."

"I just can't believe he hasn't sent word that he's coming!" Minty burst out.

My older sister Araminta was the dramatic, impulsive one in the family. Her husband was a wonderfully calm man that she had married in a scandalously short amount of time on a visit to the family in Boston. He wouldn't have turned a hair at her running off to Montana on a whim. He'd've just given her a ticket and his blessing. I liked him very much, as he took my sister seriously, even at her most melodramatic. For that alone I was impressed with him.

"Well, there's no point in my fretting about it. I have too much to do. You'd better see to your horse and then rest." 

I got up and turned back to the stove, outwardly calm but inwardly roiling with questions. I tried to put them away, as they weren't going to be answered by anyone but Sallust, but they kept intruding. Finally, though, I had to bend my concentration to the task of preserving food or risk scalding myself.

As I worked, I could hear Minty moving around upstairs in our old room. It was always odd to hear someone else in the house, even when it was Call, who I was used to by this time.

"Aden, can I help with the chores?" Minty called.

"Course! You have to earn your keep somehow," I called back.

"You have any trousers?"

I sighed. "In the bottom drawer of the bureau, _Araminta_."

"Thank you, _Andromeda Louisa_."

“I have a gun,” I replied loudly. “I _will_ shoot you if you call me that again.” 

There was more scuffling, the sound of a drawer being yanked open and kicked shut, and the noise of my sister running downstairs.

"No you won’t,” my sister said. “What shall I do?" She was attired as I was, in trousers with her blouse tucked in, boots, and her hat.

"Is your horse rented or bought?"

"Rented. I'll have to return him at the end of the week."

"Why don't you tend to him and the rest of the livestock while I finish this up and start dinner?"

"Right!" Minty marched out. I shook my head and finished my tasks. Her exuberance made me feel like _I_ was the older sister.

Sallust's putative visit was not forgotten, but I was no longer dwelling on it.

***

It was stagecoach day in Curtis Wells. Sometime after noon the vehicle drew to a stop in front of the post office and Luther jumped off the shotgun side to open the door. He handed out a delicate blonde woman, swung a little boy onto the boardwalk, and stood back as a man let himself out.

"Thank you kindly, Mr. Root," the blonde woman said.

"Mrs. Selkirk," Luther said, and turned to unload the luggage.

"Are you sure about this?" the woman asked, looking up at the man.

"This isn't the Curtis Wells I remember," he said. "But I do know one thing. As soon as we sell the farm we can go to somewhere safe and civilized. San Francisco, perhaps."

"Do you actually think we'll ever be safe?" The woman asked plaintively.

"We'll be as safe as money can make us. I'll go rent a wagon to carry our luggage. Mind Scipio." The man walked toward the livery as the woman took the little boy's hand. He fussed and tried to pull away, but her grip was tight and tense.

On the balcony of the Ambrosia Club, Mosby took in the scene with hooded eyes.

"Well well well," he muttered, grinding a cheroot out under his heel, "so the prodigal returns. I wonder what drove him back into the embrace of the family manse?" Mosby turned and strode back into his rooms, with the air of a man who would find out what he needed to know, by fair means or foul.

***

"Do you have any idea when Sallust will be getting here?" I asked my sister.

She'd been with me nearly a week. I'd forgotten how nice it was to have someone around who knew how things worked in the house. Plus Minty was much more domestic than I. Within the first two days she'd had the house entirely cleaned, dusted, polished and sparkling. I was almost afraid to touch anything, for fear of leaving a smudge.

"Soon, I would imagine," Minty said lazily. Her feet were propped on the porch rail. "You know how Sallust can be when he sets his mind to something.”

"I don't, really," I said. "I was six when he went away to college, and we scarcely ever saw him after that." I rocked my chair.

"Oh, yes. Sometimes I forget how much younger you are," Minty paused. "He was an everlasting little tyrant. Very full of himself and his firstborn son status. He knew Mama and Daddy would leave him the farm so he was always in the way of considering himself one of the landed gentry."

I snorted. "Considering the land we have, gentry's a bit of a stretch," I sipped my lemonade. "Why didn't Mama and Daddy leave me the farm? Sallust hates it, he'd never make a farmer, but I love this place. It never made sense to me."

Minty yawned. "Well, for all their forward-thinking ways in educating their daughters as well as their sons, our parents were very hidebound when it came to land. Selkirk land is passed on to the firstborn son, forever and ever, ad infinitum."

"Ad nauseam," I added. Minty snorted, exactly as I had.

"I don't know what Sallust has planned," she said. "But I don't think it's pleasant, and I don't think it benefits you in any way. Sallust thinks he's been generous in letting you be a tenant farmer on the land instead of packing you off to live with me or Vess until you could be properly married. If he's come back to claim the farm, despite his dislike of husbandry, there's got to be a very good reason. And you don't enter into his thinking, except as a possible obstacle."

I shivered, struck with fear. If I didn't have the farm, I wouldn't have anything. I couldn't bear the thought of living in Boston with my family. I would either be paraded before a succession of men deemed suitable and willing to marry me despite my age, or I would live off my family as an acknowledged spinster. I would have to dress and speak properly, and never be able to move around freely. 

The very thought suffocated me.

"Minty? Should I start packing up my belongings?"

I heard nothing from my sister. Looking over, I saw her frowning, deep in thought.

"No, don't do that just yet. It's not nice to jump to conclusions, regardless of how right I may be. I could be completely wrong. He could be on vacation." Her tone of voice let me know just how likely she thought _that_ was.

I stood up. "I'm going to bed. Thanks for the nightmares."

"Oh, hush," Minty came in after me. I went into my room and climbed into my bed, formerly my parents' bed. A very disturbing thought struck me. I went out into the living room.

"Minty?" I called up the stairs.

"What?" 

"Will I have to give up my bedroom for Sallust and his wife when they come?"

Minty came out to the top of the stairs, hairbrush in her hand. "Well, it _is_ the master bedroom. Legally he _is_ the master of the house."

My brow furrowed and I suddenly felt very obstinate. 

"Well, where am I going to sleep, then?"

"Up here. In your old bed," Minty replied. I didn't like this thought, not a bit. I resisted the urge to curse and stomp back into my bedroom.

 _If that's the case,_ I thought, _I'll just enjoy this as long as I can._

I snuggled rebelliously down into the pillows and fell asleep. About the only thing that made me feel better about having to give up the bed was knowing the quantity of scandalous lovemaking that had occurred in it. 

***

Sallust arrived the next evening, driving a rented wagon. His wife and son were in the seat next to him, the son asleep and the wife looking strained.

I knew little about my sister-in-law. I hadn't been invited to the wedding. I wouldn't have gone, anyway, it was in the spring and someone had to stay and take care of the animals while my parents were away. According to them, she wasn't all that impressive. Very much the city-bred lady.

Sallust helped her down from the seat, and handed the boy to her. He still hadn't greeted Minty or me, even though we were both standing on the porch watching.

"Sallust, do you want any help?" Minty finally said.

"You could take some of the luggage. And help Mrs. Selkirk with Scipio."

Mrs. Selkirk came up to the porch wearily. Her eyes widened with shock when she got up close. I didn’t think she realized that I was a woman and not a farmhand until she saw me. Minty was still in trousers as well, but with her hair and her shape, she was much more feminine than I was.

"I'm Aden, Mrs. Selkirk. Sallust's sister. Are you hungry?" I led her into the house. "Would you like to sit?"

Mrs. Selkirk lay Scipio on the chaise and turned back to me. "No, thank you. I have been sitting for long enough. I am terribly thirsty, though."

I went into the kitchen and brought her a glass of lemonade. She thanked me and drank gratefully.

Mrs. Selkirk was a willowy, fragile-looking blonde. Her skin was fashionably pale under the trail dust. Her travel dress was plain but beautifully made.

I, of course, felt like a hoyden next to her. I tried not to let it bother me.

Minty came into the house laden with suitcases, and dropped them with a crash, which caused the boy on the couch to start up with a cry. Within an instant, Mrs. Selkirk was by his side, soothing him. I shot Minty a withering look.

Minty ignored me, saying only, "Mrs. Selkirk, would you care for a bath for yourself or for --" her voice deepened with suppressed mirth, " -- Scipio?"

"Not just at the moment, but a basin of warm water could be brought into the bedroom," my sister-in-law replied.

"Basins're in the kitchen, and so's the copper," I said, unwilling to act like a servant just because I was being treated so. This time Minty gave _me_ a dirty look and fetched the basin and water, and some cloths. She followed Mrs. Selkirk and the boy into the room that had formerly been mine. 

It was a good thing I'd cleaned it out just that morning.

I sat down, waiting for my brother's entry. Minty came out of the room and sat across from me. I leveled a long neutral look at her, in response to which she just shrugged.

Sallust entered the house, looking tired and irritable. "Andromeda, Araminta," he said by way of some sort of greeting.

"Sallust," I replied without warmth. "I hope you find everything to your satisfaction. If it weren't for Minty, I would have had no warning of your visit."

"I will be touring the farm and livestock tomorrow when it's light, so I can have a good look at them. We'll talk then about the reason for my visit. Good night," Sallust then went into the bedroom.

Again I looked over at my sister, who shrugged once more, and got up to go to bed. I followed her up silently, and tried to settle myself enough to fall asleep.

Of all the events that had happened to me in the past year, this was one that I didn't know if I would get through intact. I felt like I'd just finished getting back to myself after my assault. The road to that recovery had been long and harrowing.

The uncertainty of my brother's intentions and my future ate at me.

I tossed all night and finally got up, perhaps an hour earlier than I usually did, and got dressed. I headed out to the barn to start my chores.

***

Call urged the Hellbitch into a gallop, heading towards a place that he was increasingly thinking of as home. He'd been away for a while and missed Aden, missed being someplace where he could relax and just be, without reserve or defense. He felt a kindling in his chest, a warmth, a sense of anticipation, as he topped the rise above the farm. He thundered into the yard, calling "Aden, are you home?"

***

My head snapped up from the stall I was mucking out. 

_Oh, that’s just about the last thing I need right now._

"Who the hell're you?" I heard Call, voice heavy with suspicion and menace.

"I'll thank you to watch your language around me. I might ask of you the same question, without the profanity. Who are you and what are you doing here?" Sallust's fussy diction came through the open barn door loud and clear.

I heard the sound of Call's gun being pulled out of its holster and cocked. 

"I'll ask you again...who the _hell_ are you? Where's Aden?"

Smirking, because I couldn't resist the sight of my brother being held at gunpoint by my erstwhile lover, I sauntered to the barn door. Leaning against it nonchalantly, arms folded, I called out, "Don’t shoot, Call. That's my brother, Sallust."

He flicked a glance over at me, not lowering his gun an inch. "Everything all right, Aden?"

"Yes, Call, it's fine. I'm fine. You can let him go."

Call warily uncocked the gun and slid it back into the holster. He scowled at my brother. My brother looked back with undisguised distaste. 

Call dismounted and walked over to me, leading the Hellbitch by her reins, dismissing him.

He asked, in an undertone, "Aden, what's going on?" 

"I don't know. He came last night. We're supposed to talk today. But Call, I don't think it's good news. And I know he won't let you stay here," I looked down, embarrassed at turning him away. I was angry at my powerlessness, at not having control over who I invited into the house anymore.

"Don’t worry about it. I'll camp out by the stream, where you usually fish. Can you meet me there later?"

"Yes. I'll bring something to eat," I said. Call nodded once, and then leaned over to kiss me lightly on the lips. I was too surprised to kiss him back. He had never done anything to publicly acknowledge that we had some sort of relationship before, our presence at the social together notwithstanding. 

I just watched as he remounted and rode off, not looking back.

I turned to go back into the barn when Sallust's voice stopped me. "Who was that...that..." Words failed him.

I looked back at my brother. "That was Call," I stated, and then left him in the yard.

***

Sallust called me in to the house right before lunch. I came into the kitchen to find Minty sitting at the table, along with Mrs. Selkirk. Scipio was playing with spools by the fire in the living room.

"I've looked over the farm. You've done a splendid job, Aden, of keeping the land and making it profitable. It should fetch a very good price when I sell it."

A roaring started up in my ears. "What?"

"You're selling the farm? Why?" Minty said, sounding as stunned as I felt.

"I'm selling it because I own it and I need the money," Sallust stated simply.

"But what will _I_ do?" I asked, seeing my entire reason for living unraveling before my eyes.

"You will go to Boston or Chicago, and live with the family. Considering the riff-raff you associate with when left to your own devices, I think that would be much the best thing," Sallust sounded very smug, very much the patriarch of the family. 

Minty and Sallust got into a heated discussion, but I couldn't hear them. I couldn't understand them. Nothing made sense to me in the face of this.

I got up and fetched a small basket and put some apples and cheese into it.

"Aden, what do you think you're doing?" Sallust's voice broke through my confusion.

"I need to think. I have to go," I said, turning with the basket in my hands. "I'll be back."

I went into the barn and saddled Athena in a haze. I mounted and somehow, without my conscious guidance, got her to my fishing spot. Call sat against one of the trees, standing up when I hove into view.

I dismounted with a total lack of grace, practically falling out of the stirrup. Call rushed to my side, catching me before I crashed to the ground, looking panicked. 

"Aden, what's wrong? What happened?"

I just stared at him, completely at a loss. My mind was in such a tangle that I couldn't have spoken if I'd wanted to. No words would come.

“Come on over here.” Call led me to his blanket and sat me down without asking another question. He took care of Athena, tethering her next to the Hellbitch, and took the basket off the saddle. He spread the food in front of us and cut a wedge of cheese, eating it off his knife.

These commonplace actions helped me find a way out of my dumbfounded state. I reached for an apple and took a bite out of it. Call waited me out, simply eating, not saying a word.

I swallowed and sighed, looking over at him. "Sallust is selling the farm."

Call nodded. "Figured it was something like that. What's that mean for you?"

"He wants to pack me off to Boston to live with my family. I'll either be married off, if that's even possible, or live as a spinster until I die." My hands shook and I crossed my arms over my breasts, shivering and hugging myself, feeling desolate.

Suddenly Call's arms were around me, pulling me into him. His warmth seeped into my isolation, and I felt less chilled. I tried to be stoic. I wanted to be strong and not fall apart. But my shock was too great, and suddenly I was gasping for air. I took huge sobbing breaths until I started crying. I didn't know it was possible to feel so betrayed. I didn't know I could lose so much so quickly. I didn't realize everything I had devoted my life to could be taken away from me like it just had. 

It was almost worse than being defiled, almost worse than losing the baby.

Almost.

Through it all, Call anchored me to him like a rock. He didn't try and soothe me with nonsense, he just held onto me, giving me his strength until I was done.

Finally I sniffled and wiped my face on my sleeve. "Don't suppose you have a handkerchief around here, do you?"

"Fresh out of hankies. I got a bandanna you can use, though," Call pulled a sad looking cloth out of his pocket. I took it, despite its dubious provenance, and blew my nose.

"I don't know what to do, Call," I admitted.

"Why's he selling the farm?" Call asked.

"I don't know. He didn't say, and he wouldn't, not to me or Minty. He doesn't feel like he has to give me a reason. He owns it, after all. He can dispose of it as he likes."

"Can you buy it?"

I smiled sadly. "No. Even if I sold everything that I own, I wouldn't have enough. I spent all my time and money on making the farm go."

I sat up rigidly, feeling like it was the only thing keeping me from flying apart. My spine felt like it was made of rods. My neck hurt.

Call got up and started collecting wood. The sun started to set. 

"I should get back."

Call turned towards me, hands full of branches. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why should you get back? What's there to get back to?" Call dropped to his haunches and started arranging the wood in a circle of stones.

"Well, my sister would worry," I said, twisting my fingers together, actually wracking my brain for a reason to return to the farm I'd previously thought of as mine.

Call came over towards me and knelt, whispering into my ear, "Stay."

I shivered and looked at him, wide-eyed. Call said, "Please. Just for tonight. We can figure the rest out tomorrow."

"You making supper?" I asked.

"Later," Call replied. He reached over and cupped a hand around my face. I felt the smoothness of his calluses against my cheek, and closed my eyes.

"I'll help you, Aden. We'll get you through this," he said gently, his lips grazing my ear.

"We can't solve all of my problems in bed."

Call pulled back, giving me an amused look.

"You see a bed anywhere around here?"

"You _know_ what I mean, Call."

"I ain't trying to solve your problem with a poke, Aden. I'm trying to take your mind off it for a little while. And make you feel good. _If_ that's all right with you."

I wrinkled my nose up at him. He leaned over and kissed the tip of it. My lips quirked up in a tiny smile and a small huff of laughter escaped.

"Better," Call said. He moved down to my lips and I kissed him back desperately. I threw myself against him, pushing him onto his back, needing to get closer to his warmth. I struggled with his shirt, pulling it out of the waistband of his trousers.

"Aden. Aden!" Call gasped out.

"What?"

He gave me a sweet smile, and reached up. 

"Not so fast," he said. He unbuttoned my blouse gently and freed my breasts into the air. Laying beneath me, Call stroked my ribs, raising goosebumps. He played his fingers over my skin as I arched my back, rolling my hips into him.

"How slowly are we going?" I asked him.

"Not too slow. Haven't seen you in a while," Call replied, slipping my blouse off my shoulders. "You do look pretty in this sunset."

"Thank you," I blushed. Leaning forward I kissed him more gently and started unbuttoning his shirt. I brushed my bare breasts against his chest as his shirt opened. He wriggled against me and sighed in contentment. 

"Don't know why I stay away so long," Call said.

"Me neither," I replied. I helped him out of his shirt and removed mine as well. The cool autumn air was oddly sensuous, contrasting with the body heat I was raising with Call, and the last fading warmth of the sun.

Call pulled me down and we rolled around like puppies, kissing and feeling our skins slide together. There were a few hilarious moments as we tried to get our boots off, and then our trousers. And then, gloriously, I was against him fully, my body along his, curved and joined like a beautiful piece of woodwork.

"I miss you too much." Call stated, stroking my back.

"You do?" I was surprised. "Why do you stay away so long if you miss me?"

"I need to. Got to make a living somehow," Call said.

"I know that's not really why," I replied, holding him close.

"You're right," Call answered without elaborating. He kissed me gently. "You warm yet?"

"I'm still feeling chilly." I replied. "Although I expect you could do something about that."

"Expect I could," Call rolled me onto my back and kissed me. I reached up for him, but he said, "Wait," and so I waited. He stroked his fingertips along my skin, from collarbone to mons, raising goosebumps again, then brushing his lips the same way down my body. I arched myself up, hips yearning towards him. Call wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me around my navel. He pushed my legs open and knelt between them. He looked up at me.

"You trust me?" 

"Of course, Call," I said. "More than anyone."

Call smiled at that. He kissed my hips, my stomach, and ran his mouth lower, to my nether hair, and lower still. I was shocked, but intrigued. Call moved his hands up my thighs and stroked my sex. I gasped. 

"What...what are you doing?" I murmured, not really wanting him to stop to answer my question.

"Shhhh..." Call replied, the susurration making my knees weak. He burrowed gently with his mouth and then I felt his tongue making long strokes in a place where I'd never expected it to be. It was divine, I was delirious, I swooned. There was a need in me that I'd never felt, a place I needed him to touch that he kept missing. I moved my hips, tried to maneuver his explorations, but still he missed. In desperation I grabbed his hair and _moved_ him to where I wanted him and promptly cried out in gratification. 

“Oh God, Call, there...there!" I pressed down on him, rocking my hips, feeling a swollen tide rising in me, until I was swept away in it, calling out to the listening twilight.

I slowly came back to myself, feeling aftershocks ripple across my skin and Call's lips on the inside of my thigh, kissing me gently. I took a deep breath.

"Did you learn that at Twyla’s?" I asked. There was silence, and I leaned up on my elbows to look at him. Call knelt there, glowering at me.

“You going to ask me that _every_ time I do something different?”

I felt embarrassed and ungrateful.

“Sorry,” I said, laying back down, eyes prickling slightly as I stared up at the twilit sky. “Would you like me to be so adventurous?”

“If you wanted to,” Call said. He came up next to me. “I didn’t learn it anywhere, Aden. I was just curious, is all.”

I covered my face with my hands. 

“I’m sorry, Call,” I said again, voice muffled. “I don’t mean to criticize. I was just surprised. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Call took one of my wrists and lifted my hand up so that he could look me in the eye. 

“Aden,” his gaze was understanding and no longer angry. “Did you like it?”

"Yes. I did. I nearly always enjoy what you do." 

Call leaned down and kissed me. 

"You taste funny," I said. 

"I taste the same as you."

"Do you like it?"

"I do." 

I put my arms around Call’s shoulders and pulled him down. “I want you to find all the ways there are to please me,” I whispered in his ear. “Even if they’re unusual. I won’t ask about it again.” 

Call shuddered against me, groaning. He tried to raise his head, but I wasn’t done. 

“Will you show me everything about you, too? I want to learn,” I murmured. “I want to make you feel that good.”

I tried not to think about how those requests might never be fulfilled. How we were both essentially making promises we might never be able to keep, no matter how much we wished to.

“Aden,” Call moaned, and he slid across me, his skin hot on mine. I released him and he kissed me again. 

"Do you want something?" I asked, looking up at him finally.

"I do," Call leaned over me on his forearms, and I raised up to meet his thrust. I watched his face as he moved in me. He had a tense, concentrated expression, eyes closed, at the beginning of it, and then he opened his eyes, the blue boring a hole into me. It almost frightened me, the intensity of this stare.

"Oh, Aden, oh God," Call gasped. He pushed hard inside me, and bucked his hips a few times, groaning. 

He was never very loud. At least, not as loud as I was. But he always said my name.

I wrapped my arms around him, holding his thin frame against mine, looking up at the first couple of stars.

Call sighed. I smiled.

"Guess I might stay the night," I said. Call chuckled, sounding deeply satisfied. He pulled out of me and kissed me gently on the forehead, then returned to his task of making a fire. I wrapped the blanket we'd laid on around myself and watched him work in the nude.

"You know what?" I said. Call looked up at me, curious. "You need a bath. I can't believe I made love with you before you bathed."

"Terrible," Call shook his head in mock disapproval. "Might set a dangerous precedent."

I laughed. "You are incorrigible." 

Call got the other bedding from his saddlebags and set up a sleeping area. I got up and lay against the one of the bags. Call lay down next to me.

"You feeling better?" he asked, pulling me to him. I rested my head on his shoulder, my arm across his chest.

"A bit, thanks. But I'm tired," I yawned. "Been an eventful day."

"Why don't you sleep? I'll wake you when it's time to eat."

I smiled and leaned back and drowsed. I sensed Call getting up and putting on his pants and heard him rummaging around the fire. I fell into a deeper sleep, and then smelled a wonderful aroma.

"Mmm?" I roused myself. "Where'd you get that?" I asked.

"Caught it before you got here. It's almost ready."

I sat up. On a tin plate there were some biscuits and trout. I found that I was actually hungry, and started eating with enthusiasm.

"Aden," Call said, tone serious. I looked up at him.

"You know,” he started, sounding uncharacteristically nervous. “I have land. You could marry me. Then you'd have a farm."

I stared at him blankly. All things considered, it'd been an unbelievable day, from the very start.

"Oh, Call," I said sadly. "That's a lovely offer, but I can't marry you. Not just for your land. That's no reason to marry anyone, and certainly not the reason I'd marry you."

"But you would?" Call sounded oddly hopeful.

"When I'm ready. I'm not ready. Neither are you. I'm not a princess, to be rescued by getting married. I don't want to be indebted to you in that way," I looked down at my plate, then back up at Call. "Besides, it's not just having a farm that's important. It's the principle of what Sallust is doing."

"I know. I wanted to help, is all," Call pitched the remains of his dinner into the dark and came to sit next to me.

"You're not mad?"

"No, course not. Long as I know where I stand," Call stroked my hair.

"For you, the playing field is all but clear. But not now. Now is not the right time," I leaned into him.

"Let's go to bed," Call said, pulling me down next to him.

“I thought you said there wasn’t a bed around here,” I responded. Call looked outraged and bore me onto my back, tickling me relentlessly.

“All right, all right, I’m sorry!” I shrieked, laughing. “Please stop!” 

Call left off tormenting me. “It’s a cruel thing when a man has his words used against him,” he smiled, shaking his head slightly.

“Well, I just had a nap. I’m not sleepy enough to go to a bed that isn't here.” 

"Didn't say nothing about sleeping, did I?" Call replied, unwrapping the blanket from me. I laughed into the night.

***

I came back to the farm sometime during mid-morning. Minty was in the barn, feeding Castor.

"Where's Sallust?" I asked.

"He went into town to contact some people. Prospective buyers, no doubt. Where were you last night?"

"Out." I said shortly.

"Wouldn't have anything to do with that young ruffian that held up our brother yesterday, would it?" I looked up and saw Minty smiling broadly.

"Maybe."

"You should've seen how scandalized he was! And Mrs. Selkirk, too."

"Oh, really?" I stripped the saddle off Athena and started rubbing her down.

"Yes. She's a real piece, I can tell you that much. I don't think she's done a lick of work her whole life. She's just about paralyzed with disgust that she's here. I thought she'd have hysterics over the outhouse."

"She tell you what possessed her to name that unfortunate child Scipio?"

"No, but I suspect it was Sallust's desire to do such a thing. You know how he loved all that ancient history we got taught."

"Poor boy."

"I wouldn't feel sorry for him, not a bit. He's Sallust's boy, all right. A little lord right down to his boots, which he tried to make me polish, I'll have you know."

"No!"

"God's truth. It took all I had not to turn the little urchin over my knee and teach him about proper manners, even _with_ a servant. Beastly creature."

I snorted, and then broke out laughing. "Oh my! That'd almost be as good as Call pulling his gun on Sallust!"

Minty laughed with me, and then sobered. "Aden, listen. Have you given any thought to what you'll do after the farm's sold? Where you'll go?"

"No, I haven't," I said. “I haven’t had _time_.”

"You know you can come and live with Richard and me. You're always welcome. Richard has often said how much he admired you for making a go of it here, on your own."

"But I haven't really done that, have I?" I said, tears threatening again. "I haven't done anything, nothing that can't be taken away from me on a whim. I'm not good for anything but this. Can you see me wearing a dress and fussing over my hair, calling on other spinsters, waiting out the rest of my life in other peoples' parlors? This is where I belong, Minty, not wasting my potential in society!"

"Oh, Aden," my sister put her arms around me. "I'm so terribly sorry. I didn't know you loved it here so much. I wish there were something I could do."

"Sallust is breaking my heart with his thoughtless actions. I cannot forgive him." I said. "I'm going inside to change."

I went into the house. Mrs. Selkirk was attempting to read one of my novels by the fireside. Scipio was playing with toy soldiers on the floor.

"Mrs. Selkirk," I greeted her.

"Where were you last night, Aden?" she asked. "We were quite worried. It is so wild out there," she repressed a delicate shudder.

"I was thinking. I can take care of myself in most any situation that might arise," I replied, with bravado I didn’t quite feel, and went upstairs.

***

Sallust Selkirk was at the livery in Curtis Wells, returning the wagon and Minty's horse, when Mosby caught up with him.

"Mr. Selkirk. What in the world brings you to my little town?" Clay Mosby drawled.

"Mosby. Of all the places to see you again," Sallust said, civil but not warm. "What are you doing here?"

"Doing? Why, I have major investments in this town, Mr. Selkirk. I am attempting to wrest civilization from this untamed country."

"It was civilized enough when I was here last. It seems that you may have caused a regression." The men fell into step on the boardwalk.

"A minor obstacle. Change is painful. But I've heard you've gotten yourself into some trouble in Chicago. Got yourself in a little deep with one of the political families up there. Have you come home for refuge or for some other reason?"

"In fact, I've come to unburden myself of some real estate. I'm selling my parents' farm," Sallust headed to the telegraph office. "I'm going to wire one of my colleagues to find some prospective buyers."

"Oh, but why do that, Mr. Selkirk, when I'd be more than willing to take that property off your hands? It's a lovely piece of land. How much are you asking?"

Sallust named a figure. Mosby named another. Sallust named a figure just slightly lower. Mosby named another figure just a bit higher than his previous offer. In ten minutes of haggling, they came to an agreement, and shook hands.

"Well, Mr. Selkirk, this is a highly satisfactory arrangement. Let's go up to my office and we can draw up a contract and transfer the title of the property to me," Mosby led Sallust up through the Ambrosia to his rooms. Sallust followed, seeing the discharge of his debt to the political family in Chicago, and his new life somewhere else, unfolding in front of him.

***

Sallust was home much earlier than any of us expected him to be. He'd taken Pollux into town with him to ride home after returning the wagon. You couldn't get that horse to gallop with anything short of a firebrand, but he came into the yard at a respectable jog.

"Sallust!" cried Elizabeth. "Whatever are you doing home so early? Is everything all right?"

Sallust beamed with satisfaction. "Everything is just fine. I sold the farm for a very good price."

"Really? To whom did you sell it?" Minty asked, her voice hard.

"Mr. Clay Mosby."

I fainted.

***

"Aden. Aden, look at me. I am talking to you," Sallust's voice bounced off my back. "Minty, do something, would you? She has to listen to me."

"I'll do nothing of the kind. She certainly doesn't have to listen to you. What could you possibly have to say that is of value to her? You came home and took everything that meant anything to her, because it was yours to dispose of as you saw fit. Now she'll be forced into a life she'll hate because of your selfishness. You disgust me," Minty replied, voice tight with anger.

I walked silently up to my room. I took out a carpet bag from under the bed and put some clothes in it, along with whatever money I had, and a few small trinkets, jewelry and such. I closed it and went back downstairs.

"Aden, what are you doing?" Sallust asked.

"I'm leaving. There's nothing here for me. And you are not my brother. You're no kin of mine." I turned to Minty and saw the thwarted fury on her face. 

"I'll be fine," I whispered. "I'm going to see Grandmama."

At that, Minty brightened a bit, and nodded. "I'll meet you there," she replied.

I went to the stable and saddled Athena. I rode her as fast as I could into Curtis Wells, to Claire Cerney's dress shop.

"Aden! How nice to see you! What can I do for you?" Claire's warm welcome was almost too much for me and I nearly burst into tears, but I kept a wall of solid ice between me and feeling. I had to, in order to keep myself upright and moving. Otherwise I would collapse in disconsolate weeping.

"Well, I need a travelling outfit, I guess," was all I said.

Claire, bless her, tried to worm out of me what was wrong, but I didn't talk. I bought the outfit and put it on. I took Athena over to Mattie's shop.

"Mattie, can you take care of Athena for me?"

"Sure I can, Aden, but why? You going somewhere?" Mattie took in my new dress with confusion, my cold demeanor with fear.

"My brother just sold the farm to Mosby. I have to go to Boston."

"Oh no! You can't mean it," Mattie looked utterly horrified. "I'm so sorry, Aden. How long will you be gone?"

"Not long or forever. I don't know yet. I'll write you. I have to catch the stage."

Mattie came around the counter and hugged me tightly. "You _better_ write," she whispered. 

"I will."

The stagecoach had just pulled in. I had a few minutes to do what I needed to do. I went into the Ambrosia Club.

Mosby was behind the counter, serving up some drinks to a couple of cowhands that'd come into town for the whores. He looked at me, then looked twice, not recognizing me at first in my feminine getup.

"Why, Miss Selkirk, I almost didn't recognize you in such ladylike apparel. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I understand you bought my parents' farm." I said flatly. "I'm on my way to Boston. I have nothing here now."

"Well, now, that's not necessarily the case. You could stay on the farm for a very _reasonable_ fee." He gave me a knowing grin.

My small fist shot out in its glove and caught him on the chin. His head snapped back in shock more than actual reaction to my punch. The bar fell completely silent.

"I'll never whore myself out for land that should be mine," I hissed. "May you never get a day's profit from what you took."

I turned to go, but Mosby's voice stopped me. "I bought that land fair and square from its legal owner, Miss Selkirk. And if you don't work it, I'm sure I can find someone else who will."

I turned back to him. "Of course you can, Mr. Mosby," I said in a deceptively sweet tone. "But it will never truly be yours if you do that. The land belongs to those who love it. It will never do for you what it did for me." I turned and left the bar for good. I bought my ticket and boarded the stage.

I didn't look back.

***

Sensing disaster, Call rode fast, and then faster. But in the end, he was too late. 

He'd gone to Miles City to see about selling off part of his share in the Hat Creek Herd to help out Aden. The response had been that if he wanted to do that, he'd have to drive the herd wherever it was he wanted it to go himself. Waiting for that had taken more days than he'd liked and left him with no time to even consider driving the herd anywhere. He got to Curtis Wells as quickly as he could. 

"She's gone," Mattie said. "To Boston. She’ll have to live with her family now."

"She say why?"

"Her brother sold the farm to Mosby."

"That sorry son of a bitch," Call said. "He couldn't have hurt her more if he tried."

"Claire's absolutely furious. She won't even let Mosby into her shop," Mattie replied.

"How long ago did she leave?"

"Over a week ago. She's probably there by now."

Call wheeled around and headed out the door.

"Call? What're you going to do?"

He turned back. Looking at Mattie, he said, "Guess I'm going to Boston."


End file.
